VICI Two Position Microelectric User Manual

Valco Instruments Co. Inc.

Two Position Microelectric

Technical Note 413

Valve Actuator

The microelectric actuator consists of a control module, a stepper motor/gearbox assembly, a manual
controller (use is optional), a universal AC input (100-240 VAC, 50-60 Hz) to 24 VDC power supply,
and the interconnecting cables. The actuator is self-adjusting from 30° to 90° – no valve alignment is
necessary. Once a valve is installed by tightening the clamp screw, the actuator senses the positive
stops within the valve and memorizes them in the first four moves.

The time it takes a valve to cycle from Position A to Position B
depends on the amount of rotation involved. To determine the
number of degrees in the angle of rotation, divide 360° by the
number of ports in the valve. Then consult the table at right.

Installation and Use

(Control module serial numbers starting with EM2C)*

90

115

150

235

ED

140

175

235

300

EQ

EH EP

36°

45°

60°

90°

Switching times in milliseconds

60

70

85

115

70

85

110

145

ET

330

410

500

710

Getting Started

Figure 1 on the next page shows how to connect the various actuator components. There are four

connectors on the control module, keyed and sized to prevent incorrect connection.

Cable and Connector Functions

Input power

a coaxial connector: the inner pin is + voltage and the outer pin is ground.
The average DC current requirement is 2.5 amps. Standby current draw
is 60 milliamps. The actuator should not share a power supply with
other noise-sensitive electronics, as the high current draw can cause
problems.

Motor driver output

carry the stepper motor phase drive signals. Pin 3 is grounded and
tied to the cable shield to reduce electrical noise.

A three-pin connector is used for the
pin 2 is transmit to the host computer, and pin 3 is receive from the
host. (A discussion on serial control of the actuator starts on page 3.)

(20-30 VDC , with 24-28 VDC pref erred) is supplied through

is through the five-pin connector: pins 1, 2, 4, and 5

RS-232 interface

: pin 1 is ground,

Pin # Signal Description

Input Power Cable

inner +20-30 VDC power

outer Ground

Motor Driver Output Cable

1 Phase B

2 Phase B

3 Ground

4 Phase A

5 Phase A

The ten-pin connector is for the
controlled by
provide simultaneous control by an external system. (Digital control of the actuator is discussed on
page 3.)

* Serial numbers are on the underside of the control module. (Figure 2) Actuators of this series are further identified by a metallic

control module housing. If your actuator control module has a plastic housing and a serial number starting with E2CA, please refer to
Technical Note 421.

either

or

both

manual controller

. The manual controller has a through por t, so an additional cable can

or for

digital input/output signals

1

; the actuator can be

TO 110 OR 220 V A C
(User must supply other
line cord configurations)

TO

EXTERNAL

CONTROL

SYSTEM

LINE CORD (IEC-320)
P/N I-W-17600

+24-28 VDC

GND

DIGIT AL INPUT/
OUTPUT CABLE
P/N I-22537

POWER SUPPL Y

P/N PS24VDC-CE

BLACK / WHITE STRIPE

BLACK

OPTIONAL
INPUT POWER CABLE
P/N I-22535-CE

MOTOR DRIVER
OUTPUT CABLE

P/N I-22645

MANUAL

CONTROLLER

(Use optional)

P/N I-22689

POSITIONAPOSITION

PIN 1

B

PIN 1

CLAMP

SCREW

MOTOR/GEARBOX
ASSEMBL Y
P/N EQMA (Highest speed)

EHMA (High speed and

Medium torque)
EDMA (High torque
ETMA (Highest torque)

MOUNTING

BRACKET

PIN 1

P/N I-22596

2 POSITION ACTUATOR
CONTROL MODULE

CLAMP
RING

POSITION

AB

POSITION
INDICATOR
LIGHTS

Valco Instruments Co. Inc.

P/N:
EQCA-CE (Highest speed)
EHCA-CE (High speed)
EPCA-CE (Medium torque)
EDCA-CE (High torque)
ETCA-CE (Highest torque)

PIN 1 PIN 1

TO COMPUTER

MANUAL CONTROLLER CABLE
P/N I-22537-01

DB-9
CONNECTOR
(FEMALE)

Figure 1: Actuator and controller connections

OPTIONAL
SERIAL PORT
(RS-232) CABLE
P/N I-22697

2

Mounting

Digital I/O Cable
Pin # Signal Description

1 Ground
2 +5 VDC
3 Position A output
4 Position B output
5 Position A input
6 Position B input
7 Position A relay contact output
8 Position A relay contact output
9 Position B relay contact output

10 Position B relay contact output

The actuator should be oriented so that any potential leakage of liquid
from the valve or fittings flows away from rather than into the actuator.

(below)

tor/gearbox assembly.

Figure 2 provides the mounting dimensions for the stepper mo-

3.4" for EH

4.4" for ET

1.95"

1.375"

OK

OK

3.24"

2.7"

2.2"

.7"

1" .75"

.9"

1"

8-32

MOUNTING HOLES*

The length of the 8-32 screws used for panel
mounting is not critical, as long as they extend
at least 1/4" into the actuator casting.

.973"

3.9"

3.1"

SERIAL
NUMBER
TAG

CONTROL MODULE

Figure 2

Initialization

Any time a valve is removed and reinstalled, the actuator must be initialized by following these steps:

1. Cycle the actuator twice with no valve, or with either end of the motor driver output cable unplugged.

2. Plug the cable back in, or put the valve back in the clamp ring. Orient the valve as desired and tighten
the clamp screw.

For the next few cycles the actuator will move at half its normal speed while it looks for the valve stops.
Once it determines the proper stroke, the actuator will return to normal speed. If you don’t hear a
change in speed, make sure that the clamp screw is tight.

Digital Control of the Actuator

Digital Communication Protocol

Pins 1 and 2 provide ground and +5 volt outputs, respectively; pins 3
and 4 are TTL outputs f or P osition A and P osition B, and are considered
asserted at 0 volts and deasserted at 5 volts. (This is sometimes re­ferred to as “negative true logic”.) Pins 5 and 6 are digital inputs for
switching to P osition A and Position B . They can be driven either b y 5 volt
TTL/CMOS logic or by contact closure to ground (Pin 1). Isolated con­tact closure outputs are availab le at Pins 7 and 8 for P osition A and Pins
9 and 10 for Position B. If there is a positioning error due to valv e stic k­ing, clamp ring slippage, etc., the output is set to “0” (all lines high for a
negative true output).

Input Modes

Two input mode options are provided to expand the control fle xibility of the actuator.

Mode 1

In mode 1 (default) the digital inputs are set to be compatible with the standard Valco AC actuator.
Asserting input pin 5 causes the actuator to go to Position A, and asserting input pin 6 sends it to

3

Position B . Operation in this mode requires two relays, as shown in
the illustration at right. Relays should be asserted (turned on) for
a minimum of 30 msec and deasserted (turned off) for a minimum
of 30 msec before the next assertion.

Mode 2

Operation in this mode requires one relay. In mode 2, asserting
pin 5 causes the actuator to toggle from the current to the oppo­site position. Asserting pin 6 causes the actuator to toggle to the
opposite position, delay for a preset period of time (the default is
100 ms), and toggle back to the original position.

Mode Setup

To set the actuator mode, connect it to an RS-232 serial port as
described in the section below, Establishing Serial

Communications. To see the current setting, enter the SM

Mode 1

RELAY 1

RELAY 2

Mode 2

Toggle setup (A B A)

RELAY

Delay setup (A B)

RELAY

CABLE (I-22537)

CABLE (I-22537)

CABLE (I-22537)

PIN 1

PIN 5
PIN 6

PIN 1

PIN 5

PIN 1

PIN 6

command as shown in the Serial Commands chart on page 5. T o

n

change the mode, enter SM

, where n is 1 or 2. The DT command displays the current delay time
setting. This setting can be changed with the DTn command, where n is the desired time from 0 to
65,000 milliseconds.

Mode settings are saved when the power is off.

Serial Control of the Actuator

Establishing Serial Communications

Items required:

• Valco cable assembly I-22697 or equivalent

• Terminal emulation or communication software such as QModem, ProComm, or
Windows® Terminal or HyperTerminal, running on a PC-compatible computer

1. Connect the I-22697 cable to the actuator as indicated in Figure 1, and set the serial port at 9600
baud, no parity, 8 data bits, 1 stop bit, no hardware or software handshaking.

2. With the software running, check the bi-directional communication link between the keyboard/moni­tor of the computer and the serial port by typing VR<enter>. If the link is functioning and an actuator
ID has not been set, a message similar to the following will appear on your monitor, giving the
program number and date of the actuator firmware.

I-PD-ETX88RXX (XX = revision number)
2 - Aug - 99

If there is no response, it is possible that the ID has already been set. To force a response from a
device with an unknown ID, type *VR<enter>. The asterisk is a substitute ID wild card which will
elicit a response from all devices on line, no matter what their ID is.

Programmer’s note:

serial por t output is deactivated when not in use. At the beginning of a message the first character
transmitted is sometimes lost due to a framing error . To av oid this, a NULL char acter (zero value byte) is
sent at the beginning of each message. Most terminal programs will ignore the NULL character, but custom
software may require a character trap to delete it.

To permit multiple actuators to share the same computer serial port, the actuator

Serial Communication Protocol

Serial communication is based on an ASCII string protocol. Carriage re­turn (OD hex) characters parse the communications by defining the end
of each command. Line feed characters (OA hex) are ignored.
A three-pin connector is used for the RS-232 interface: pin assignments
are indicated at right. Software flow control (Xon/Xoff) and hardware hand­shaking are not supported.

4

Serial Port (RS-232) Cable
Pin # Signal Description

1 Ground
2 Transmit to host
3 Receive from host

Serial Commands

CP<enter> Displays the current actuator position

CW<enter> Sends the actuator to Position A

CC<enter> Sends the actuator to Position B

GOn<enter> Sends the actuator to Position n, where n is A or B

TO<enter> Toggles the actuator to the opposite position

TT<enter> Toggles the actuator to the opposite position, waits a preset

delay time, then rotates back to the original position.

ID<enter> Displays the current device ID setting

IDn<enter> Sets the device ID to value n, from 0 to 9

NOTE: When the ID feature is enabled, all commands
to the device must be prefaced by the ID number.
Entering ID* disables this feature (discussed below.)

ID*<enter> Clears the ID variable

SB<enter> Displays the current baud rate

SBnnnn<enter> Sets the baud rate to 1200, 2400, 4800, 9600 (default), 14400,

19200, 28800, or 38400. The parity setting, number of data
bits, and number of stop bits cannot be changed. (See
section entitled Setting a New Baud Rate on the next page)

SOnnnn<enter> Turns off the position outputs after a delay, set in milliseconds

to the closest 5 ms interval, from 0 to 30,000 ms. The outputs
are always on (SO=0) by default.

SM<enter> Displays the current digital input mode (See section entitled

Digital Control of the Actuator, subhead Input Modes)

SMn<enter> Sets the digital input mode to Mode n, where n is 1 or 2

DT<enter> Displays the current delay time in milliseconds

DTn<enter> Sets the delay time from 0 to 65,000 milliseconds

NOTE: The total delay time equals n = 2 milliseconds

VR<enter> Displays the part number and date of the firmware

/?<enter> Displays list of valid commands

IN<enter> Starts a re-inialization sequence

With the software-settable device “ID” feature enabled, the serial por t output (transmit line) of the
actuator is disabled (high impedance). Thus, as many as ten actuators can be controlled from a single
host serial port for a temporary multidrop application. For permanent multidrop applications, the
RS-485 option is the factory-recomended solution. The table above describes and explains all the
commands available.

Using the Device ID Feature

Actuators are shipped from the factory with this feature disabled. When it’s enabled, the actuator
responds only to commands which begin with the correct ID prefix, allowing up to 10 actuators to be
controlled from one serial port. A single command can be broadcast to all actuators by using an

Note:

asterisk (*) as the command prefix.

Any broadcast command which elicits a response from the

serial port (such as *VR or *ID1) will receive a combined and unintelligible response.

5

JUMPERS

1 AND 2

To set the ID of an actuator, connect it to an RS-232 serial port as shown in Figure 1 on
page 2.

Caution: When installing or replacing actuators on a shared serial port, make sure that no

two devices have been set to the same ID number.

1. Remove all of the actuators from the serial daisy chain except the one for which you are setting the ID.

2. Type VR <enter>. You should get a response giving the firmware version, indicating that serial
communication with the actuator is established. If there is no response, type *VR<enter> to see
if the ID is already set. If there is still no response, check the cabling and connections.

set

3. To
To
To

an ID, type ID

change
disable

an ID, type

the ID feature, type

n<enter>

i

IDn<enter>, where

, where n is the new ID, from 0 to 9.

i

ID*<enter>, where

i

is the current ID and n is the new ID.

i

is the current ID.

Setting a New Baud Rate

To permanently set a new baud rate for the actuator:

1. Establish communications with the actuator at the current baud rate.

2. Issue the command SB

nnnn

to temporarily change the baud rate to the desired rate. If the power

goes down at this point, the baud rate will revert to the last permanent setting.

3. Change the host computer to the same baud rate just set in the actuator, and ver ify that you can
establish communications.

nnnn

4. Re-issue the same SB

command you did previously (in Step 2), and the current baud will be

made permanent.

RS-485 Option

Software

The RS-485 option involves three minor software adapta­tions to the RS-232 protocol. The first is that the ID r ange is
extended to include the characters “A” through “Z”, with
upper and lower cases treated as the same ID. The second
change is that the ID is required (either numbers from 0 to 9
or letters from A to Z), and must be included in all commands. The f actory-set default ID for all de vices
is “Z”. The third adaptation is that all commands must include a forward slash [/] as the start-of­message character.

Hardware

The RS-485 hardware includes two 3-pin connectors (Figure 3) used as in/out connectors for easy
daisy-chaining of additional devices. Wired in parallel, the signal assignments are as follows: Pin 1 is
Ground, Pin 2 is Phase B, and Pin 3 is Phase A.

Figure 3: Control module,

The four male pins in a vertical row to the left of these connectors are jumper headers, used to add
or remove terminating resistors from the communication lines. The top two and the bottom two should
be jumpered when term-ination is required. The RS-485 hardware specifications require termination at
each end of the communication line, so in a daisy-chaining application the jumpers should be removed
from all the intermediate devices. The RS-485 port on the host computer or controlling device generally
includes terminating resistors, so only the actuator on the end of the communication string needs to
have the jumpers installed.

North America, South America, and Australia/Oceania contact: Europe, Asia, and Africa contact:

®

Valco Instruments Co. Inc. VICI AG International

P.O. Box 55603
Houston, TX 77255
Sales: [phone]
Tech: [phone]
Fax: [phone] [e-mail]

Cheminert® and VICI® are registered trademarks of Valco Instruments Co. Inc. and VICI AG

®

Parkstrasse 2
CH-6214 Schenkon
Switzerland
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone] [e-mail]

TN-413 Rev 1/11